rak313

I have several hikvision cameras that i use with their free iVMS 4200 v3 software for recording video. I set them to the same ntp server for time sync, but notice about a 1 sec variation in the camera clocks. I assume this is because the cameras don't actually run ntp, and instead just periodically set their clocks to the ntp server’s time. I find this a bit annoying, and was wondering if anyone has successfully loaded ntp onto the cameras, so that they are synced much closer together. Thanks

The ip camera has an option to sync the time to an NTP server. Its just not using NTP software on the camera, and so the camera time drifts a bit in between updates. So i want to add ntp software to the OS on the camera, so that the time will be in better sync than about 1 second off. Since the internal camera OS is linux, it should be easy to add ntp. So im wondering if anyone has done it.

I have 5 Hikvision cameras. They are set to sync time from a GPS trained NTP server. But the time of each camera apears to be +/- 1 second instead of 1 or 2 milliseconds that is typical of NTP systems. I assume this is due to the Hikvision's not using NTP on the camera's Linux to condition the camera's clock, but instead just use the NTP protocol to reset the clock. So as a result, the time is always around 1 second error. So my question is, can NTP software be placed on the camera and run on startup, such that the camera's clock gets conditioned by an external NTP server? And if so, how do you do it? Thanks in advance. Rick

can the Hikvision turret camera DS-2CD2332-I be mounted on a wall?

UPDATE: I was logging into a remote client that was not where the storage was taking place. So now here is the situation: I have ivms-4200 v2 storage server running on a window 7 pc. I have 5 hikvision cameras recording all the time. On this same server, i have ivms-4200 client software running. I set up my ipad with ivms-4500. I configured ivms-4500 (on the ipad) to the ip address of the pc where the storage server is running, port 8000. In live view on the ipad, all 5 cameras show error 73. However, if I select remote playback, i can see the recorded material on the ipad.

I currently have 5 Hikvision IP cameras connected via POE switch to a wireless router (that is not connected to the internet), and recording to a dedicated remote PC. This PC runs Hikvision’s iVMS-4200 storage server. The PC is direct wired to the router. All cameras, the router, and the PC have IP addresses of 192.168.1.x, netmask 255.255.255.0. The recording PC has a wireless connection to my main wireless router, which is connected to the internet via 192.168.0.x,netmask 255.255.255.0. It uses this connection to get NTP time. I have another dedicated PC for viewing live and recorded video that runs Hikvision’s iVMS-4200 client software. The connection from the playpack PC to the recording PC is wireless via the 192.168.1.1 wireless router. The playback PC has a second wireless card that connects it to the main wireless router (192.168.0.1) providing an internet connection. I want use an ipad (or Android tablet) with Hikvision’s iVMS-4500 to be able to view the cameras live. But I am unsure how this works. Does the Hikvision’s iVMS-4500 connect directly to the cameras or to the Hikvision’s iVMS-4200 client? The reason this matters is I want to connect the ipad to the 192.168.0.1 network for internet access. This network can see the playback PC but not the cameras directly. So the question is does the IVMS-4500 connect to the ivms-4200 client, or the cameras directly? Thanks in advance. Rick

OK i now have an ipad with ivms-4500, and I'm trying to connect to my pc running ivms-4200. This is all within my local network, not via internet. On the ipad ivms-4500 devices screen, I set up Reg Mode: IP/domain, Address:192.168.0.196 (ip address of my pc running ivms-4200), port:8000, User name: admin, pasword mypassword of ivms-4200, camera no: 1 I get back "connection failed" error. If I use a browser on the ipad to 192.168.0.196, I get the login page of the ivms-4200, so I have connectivity. And I can login (but not see cameras - because i needs a plugin). Help appreciated.

Thanks for the information and your opinion . My opinion is it doesn't suck. It was done that way on purpose. The wireless traffic from the cameras on the 192.168.1.1 wirelesss network is 20-40 Mbps, and I plan on adding more cameras. I put it on a 5 GHz channel, that can support 100 Mbps thruput. I use 5 GHz because few are on those channels and the signal doesn't travel very far. I want none of that traffic on my regular 2.4 GHz home wifi network. Thus the 2 networks. The only reason the playback PC was connected to the main network was to get time. But that connection will now also allow a tablet running ivms-4500 to connect to the ivms-4200 client.

I have a 4 mm Hikvision ds-2cd2332 camera working with iVMS-4200 software. I'm (more or less) happy with how the software works. The firmware version in the camera is 5.0.2. I want the 6mm version of this camera, and can't find it from a US vendor. I have contacted a Ailliexpress vendor who says their cameras come with firmware version 5.1.6 "English version" - whatever that means. I am worried that this "china" region camera with 5.1.6 firmware won't work with ivms-4200, as has been suggested by others in this forum. 1) is this true? 2) what are my options? Thanks in advance.

Hikvision specs for the DS-2CD2532 say '4mm@F2.0, angle of view: 75.8° (2.8mm, 6mm optional)' One assumes that is 75.8° for the 4 mm lens. But that does not seem to be consistent with the spec: '1/3" Progressive Scan CMOS'. 1/3" sensors are typically 4-4.5 mm wide. A 4.5 mm wide sensor with a 4 mm lens should yield a FOV of about 59 deg. Does anyone know the actual FOV with the DS-2CD2532 (or DS-2CD2032-I) for the various lens choices? Thanks

I have iVMS 4200 v3 working. I set it up about 2 months ago and I may not remember everything. But my setup is as follows: I use 2 computers, one for recording and one for viewing. This is not necessary - I only do that because the recording pc is located remotely and the viewing pc is connected via wireless. On the recording PC I installed the storage server software of the iVMS 4200. On the viewing pc I installed the client software of the iVMS-4200. For configuration, on the client PC, I added the cameras, added the remote storage server, and setup a recoding schedule. On the recording PC the storage application (NvrStorageServer) is run (it does not have any user interface - it is controlled via the client). On the viewing pc, the iVMS-4200 client is run - and used to set up everything and view live cameras as well as playback video. I like the software very much. I followed an instruction I found on the web - but I can't remember where I found it. Note: all of the software was located within the iVMS-4200 v2.

I have 2 USA version 6mm ds-2cd2332-i cameras and one 4mm ds-2cd2332-i. The 2 6mm cameras have 5.1.2 firmware. Comparing the 2 6mm cameras to each other (both with the same out of box settings) - one I would describe as perfect color balance, the other one has a slight blueish cast and slightly different brightness. After adjusting for brightness, there is still a slight blue cast. Adjusting the hue can minimize noticing it, but not completely eliminate it. The 4 mm version seems to have good color balance. Rick

I have been using iVMS-4200 software for a bit over a week. I have 2 Hikvision cameras (2332, 2032) connected to a Netgear 8 port (4 are POE) switch which then goes to a 4 port wireless router (Linksys EA2700) that is connected to the PC. I run iVMS-4200 (storage server) software on this PC. This PC is at a remote location. On another PC, I run the iVMS-4200 client - connecting to the camera and the remote storage server. This connection is wireless (with good signal strength and high connection speed). Both PCs run windows 7 professional. I want the cameras and the 2 PCs to have accurate time. I know there is time correction in windows 7, but it is rudimentary. So I installed (meinberg) http://www.meinbergglobal.com/english/sw/ntp.htm NTP for windows. On the client PC - everything went well, NTP converged in a few minutes. But on the PC running the iVMS-4200 storage server, NTP never converged - even after 10 hrs. The offset reported was as large as 1.5 seconds. Whereas on the client PC, the offset was in the 10 millisec range. (Both PCs getting time from the same NTP server.) Then I stopped the storage server, and NTP converged within a few minutes with the time offset in the 10 ms range. Restart the storage server and the NTP time offset goes erratic (300-1300 ms jumping wildly). (Note: In the iVMS-4200 storage server software, I left the System -> Time -> NTP box -> unchecked). So I uninstalled NTP, and re-enabled the windows (7 built in) time service. Same behavior: With no iVMS-4200 storage server, time is well behaved (matches the other PC with a slow drift). Run the storage server, and the time gets offset by random amounts. (We are only talking about fractions of a second - getting as high as 1.5 seconds for the hour period I observed it. So there are workarounds - like using ntpdate to set the time periodically, or just living with the error if it stays bounded). I conclude that the iVMS-4200 storage server is somehow causing the PC system time to become corrupted. This behavior can be observed within 5 min of starting the storage server. Thoughts?

SOLVED It turns out the "NTP sync to time.windows.com" checkbox on the storage server WAS checked. I was controlling this via the client menu, and on the server page, but had a camera highlighted instead of the storage server. So I accidentally was disabling NTP on the camera, but not on the storage server. So periodically the storage server was resetting the system time bothering the NTP software I installed in windows. Once I unchecked this box, NTP converges quickly.

The recordings are on the my PC's disk recorded by the ivms-4200 storage server.

I noticed that when my Hikvision DS-2CD2332I camera was disconnected from my network, I could no longer search for previously recorded video that was stored via hikvision iVMS-4200 server software. Once the camera was reconnected, the search was possible. This would mean if someone were to break a camera, the previously recorded video from that camera would no longer be viewable from within the iVMS4200 software. Now the video would still be on the recorded disks, and there are utilities to view this video, but the filenames just inclease in number, and do not convey the camera, so finding the correct file could be difficult.

I have two DS-2CD2032-I cams, both Chinese versions with Chinese firmware, purchased from CCTV Camera China. One has V5.1.2 build 140116 and the other has V5.1.6 build 140412 firmware that the vendor applied the hack to give English UI (well, multi-language capability). I don't normally use IVMS-4200 so I'm not sure what's supposedly broken, but it seems fine to me... [attachment=0]Capture.JPG[/attachment] Thank you for the info. CCTV Camera China is where I was considering buying, but I was concerned about it not working with IVMS-4200. The main view screen you showed is a "live view". Have you been able to record/playback? My fears have been greatly reduced with the success of the region change fix CBX offers.

Yes - excellent, very quiet-but pricey. I have not used their CPU coolers, just their case fans.

I'm confused. Hikvision ivms-4200 PCNVR and Hikvision ivms-4200 Client seem to be quite similar. I don't understand what the difference is or which one I should be using. The PCNVR seems to be a stand alone application that views live/records/and plays back. The Client seems to do all those things as well. It looks to me like the "client" contains a collection of applications that are more integrated - but I can't tell. Please enlighten me. Thanks Rick

I am looking to buy a Hikvision IP camera. I have decided to buy only from US vendors and not gamble on buying direct from china. Tempting, but too many things can go wrong. From minor - sent wrong focal lenght, to bad - camera doesn't work, vendor won't answer your email. I have searched and can't find any for sure Hikvision USA resellers (I probably wouldn't like the price even if i did). I did find a site in Plano Tx that said Hikvision USA on their website ad, but they didn't respond to my email when I asked if it's really a Hikvision USA camera (red flag). So now it's down to "good" sites that import "English" versions. The problem is I don't know which ones are reputable. IMO, signs of being reputable website are: 1) web site has name, address, and phone number of place of business. 2) 30 day return policy - if camera is in same condition as it was out of the box - with all items returned. 3) no more that 15% restocking fee. 4) good reputation among user community. So far, I've only found 1 online store that met 1), 2), 3) above and they didn't sell the wireless model I wanted (Hikvision DS-2CD2532F-IWS ). Assuming this is not breaking this site's policy, I would like anyone who has a recommendation for a good US vendor selling Hikvision to PM me and share your buying experience.

I want to mount a Hikvision camera outside with minimal wires and holes in the house. I know the DS-2CD2532F-IWS has wireless capability, but I want to use the more powerful IR of the DS-2CD2232-I5. So I'm looking for a wi-fi adapter that can live outdoors. I haven't been able to find one.

Well I would if I knew what that meant. How about a PM?

Thanks for the link and method of measuring. Do you have any info on the "6mm" lens? When the 3 MP sensor image is scaled to 1080p, they undoubtedly don't use the same set of pixels as when using the 2048x1536 mode - and this is what must be responsible for the change in field of view (thus me saying different cropping of the sensor). In fact they must be using a larger sensor width (versus 2048x1536 mode) in the 1080p mode to get a larger FOV. (I wouldn't be surprised if both modes were rescaled). I agree - and the reason for my original post. Thanks for sharing your measurements.

I found this which I think will work, but it also requires POE for power. TP-LINK TL-WA5210G High Power Outdoor Wireless Access Point, 2.4GHz 54Mbps, 802.11g/b, 12dBi directional antenna, Passive POE https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDAQFjAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.discomp.cz%2Fimg.asp%3Fattid%3D69085&ei=_tilU8GfApSLqAbf2YGIBg&usg=AFQjCNG81yHYKiiJuLRE-YPXAu8EfFgbNw&sig2=spJcziBPi_fySXs6yD1axQ&bvm=bv.69411363,d.b2k&cad=rja I also found a cisco wifi/power converter for their IP phones, but its not for outside, and i don't know if the power jacks are compatible (size/polarity) with Hikvision IP camera 12V power jack. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cisco.com%2Fc%2Fdam%2Fen%2Fus%2Ftd%2Fdocs%2Fvoice_ip_comm%2Fcsbpva%2Fwbpn%2Fuser%2Fguide%2Fwbpn_user_guide.pdf&ei=zdylU-KkHM-bqAa6h4HQDQ&usg=AFQjCNH23Uy8dldWqDgPpk3z_5G2AfiubQ&sig2=tp1IEdineYJyA7ayuS7a8A&bvm=bv.69411363,d.b2k&cad=rja

So what happens if the internet is unavailable for awhile, or, (heaven forbid), BI goes out of business. While I'm happy I can proceed, I'm not sure I like software that can turn itself off. But the price is right. Thanks for the PM.